My 2012 Retrospective

Sometimes it's good to dwell on the past. Some enlightened people call it "reflection". Looking at last year, I'm kind of surprised we're still here. The internet was rife with predictions of "Ascension". People leaving this dimension, either with or without their bodies and or clothing. I for one, was pretty disappointed to wake up on December 22 and have to go to work. Ascension seemed so much more exciting. I guess I was not enlightened enough to align my chakras and fly to the 4th dimension. Also, zombies and the apocalypse, another disappointment.
Outrunning zombies didn't seem that hard to me. I think it would be harder to align my chakra's. Maybe when we all go over the "fiscal cliff", we can ascend some where else, to a place that has a public option for healthcare and some decent gun control laws.
There were a lot of shenanigans going on with the election. Hilarity ensued during the Republican debates, when Rick Perry choked trying to name the government agencies he wanted to eliminate. Ron Paul suggested there were 5, Mitt Romney named the EPA. Proving that Romney really IS a nice guy! As long as you're not one of the 47%. Looking back on Romney and his religion, the planet Kolob (in The Book of Mormon) could be Mormon code for ascension. Think about it, where's Mitt Romney? has anyone seen him?

Lonesome George, the last of the Pinta Island tortoises, passed away at the Galapagos Island National Park, making his subspecies extinct. We are also witnessing the extinction of the GOP Reptile Party. Too bad George had to go first. He reminds me of another turtle, named Mitch. (see last post).
I think they are both the same age. Only Mitch McConnell has better healthcare. It seems strange to me that someone worth $17 million gets healthcare provided by the government. While people who can't afford it go without.
So, North Korea had two satellite parties, one an epic fail, one actually launched, but there is doubt about whether they really have control of it. Iran praised North Korea's successful missular presence. I guess everyone went back home after the excitement, the Korean people were hoping that a shower of food supplies would rain down on them during the launch. Also, the months and years of working for the state for free made the sacrifice so worthwhile, since now they can have "The Dish" satellite TV, yet nothing in their dish. Party On Pyongyang!
Two horrific incidents happened on September 11th. Neither of which I am going to joke about. One was the release of that stupid trailer, "The Innocence Of The Muslims" setting off riots in Libya, killing U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, with four other Americans. The fallout is still going on.
The other, the horrible fires in Karachi and Lahore that Walmart is ultimately responsible for. 315 died, 250 were injured. Why? Because Walmart found a time machine that could take garment workers back to the turn of the century, before any regulations or protections for American workers were in place. It's called Pakistan or any other country that has no labor standards, so American Corporations can exploit these human beings. Meanwhile in America, we still march to Walmart.

Which brings me to another disaster, Hurricane Sandy. I live in New Jersey. I was evacuated from my home.  I was lucky. I sustained no damage and was out of power for a while. I still talk to people who have lost cars, homes, possessions. Funding for states that have been hit hardest and have requested it, well, it still hasn't passed Congress. The irony is not lost on me that Governor Christie, the darling of the Republican Party is begging "big government" for help. Meanwhile, he refuses to set up insurance exchanges so people could have a chance of getting insurance they otherwise couldn't afford. I don't know what lessons Christie will take from this disaster, He seems to be very concerned about the people of New Jersey, unless they need healthcare.There are a lot of people trying to find affordable housing. Many people had their homes paid off and have no way of paying high rental prices. FEMA's goal is recovery, but what if you have nowhere to recover to?
The election of President Obama was quite a surprise for Karl Rove.

 

I don't know what, if anything, Anonymous did, but they have my vote, also for calling out Westboro Baptist, I refuse to call it a church, they wanted to disrupt the funerals in Newtown, Connecticut.
Which brings me to the sad tragedies in Newtown, and Aurora, Colorado and more. Too many places with too many assault weapons, guns and mental illness. I already blogged about it, American Psycho, on the right.
So it's New Years Eve. Now we get to "Auld Acquaintance". Hillary Clinton is in the hospital in NYC, with a blood clot in her brain She suffered a fall nearly two weeks ago. She was supposed to testify at the Benghazi hearings and was criticized by Allen West, who said she had the "Benghazi Flu". When will these guys ever shut their pieholes? Get well soon Hillary!
Have a Happy New Years Eve. Spend it with someone you love. I hope we're going to be ready for 2013.

Mooch McConnell, The First Turtle/Human Hybrid

Did Mitch McConnell get kidnapped by aliens? Where is the man who's goal was to make President Obama a one term president? This, coming from a guy who could never be president.
However, he is up for re-election in 2014.
I guess it was about a month ago when he filibustered his own bill.
That's why they pay him the big bucks.
The US is coming upon a completely manufactured debt crises. He says he's "bent over backwards" trying to solve the country's fiscal problems. Proving, once again, that anyone can say anything and we are supposed to believe it's true. I have always thought that no one would do anything as far as the fiscal cliff is concerned. It is easier to just let the Bush tax cuts expire, because McConnell will never raise taxes, for any reason, ever.
I don't like to get into discussions about "good" versus "evil". The exception is McConnell's case. He represents the state of Kentucky. Where I used to live. I have seen first hand, the poverty there. Not only poverty but  privilege. The disparity in Kentucky is a microcosm for rest of the country. The poorest of the poor dwell in poverty stricken Appalachian Kentucky. The wealthy 1% are in bluegrass Bowling Green horse country.
 Where do you think McConnell is on the first Saturday in May**, otherwise known as Derby Day? Not hanging out with coal miners in "Butchers Holler" that's for sure.
Senator McConnell is a member of the Conservation, Forestry and Natural Resources Subcommittee. Can anyone say strip mining? Kentucky's mining industry has made parts of that state an unnatural disaster that, well, no one cares about. Especially not McConnell. He's also on the Subcommittee for Energy and Water Development. Which pretty much  explains why their will be no alternate form of energy development since that would not help wealthy coal mine owners. I don't know if you know this, but there's a war on coal. The coal industry was pushing Romney for president, that industry also says President Obama's environmental policies were "killing coal". Most of our coal is going to China now. So, coal will live to see another day and leave it's carbon footprint worldwide, like it always has.
Senator McConnell is obviously not concerned about anything other than maybe, Grover Norquist's tax "pledge" of allegiance. McConnell has some kind of reputation of being the behind the scenes "legislative bargainer" Really? He filibustered his own bill. McConnell is known as "the cleaner" or the guy who fixes the mess that others leave behind. He should really start with his own state, but apparently he's got more important things to do in DC. However I'm not holding my breath waiting for McConnell to do anything about the country's debt problems.
There's some talk about Ashley Judd running for senate against Mitch in 2014. Which is one of the reasons why the senator won't do anything when it comes to raising taxes on the very wealthy. The Senator from Kentucky is incompetent at best and this guy is supposed to be brokering a "behind the scenes" deal? It doesn't take a lot of imagination to see who will be getting the short end of the stick y'all, in any deal McConnell strikes.
Fun McConnell facts:
He's worth $17 million
The Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics has named him one of the 15 most corrupt members of Congress*
He's married to Elaine Chow, Department of Labor Secretary under Bush. Her father's a multi-millionaire with connections to the highest levels of communist China. Thanks for all that "free trade" Mitch, all those American jobs going to China? Coincidence?
McConnell needs to be unemployed, along with a lot of other American workers. Who the hell would vote for him in 2014? I don't know if Ashley Judd would do a better job than him, she couldn't do any worse.
Since we haven't heard much from Mooch McConnell, I'm guessing he's laying low in his turtle shell, so everyone else can go over the fiscal cliff.
*Mitch McConnell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
** I owe Sarge a Mint Julep for setting me straight on what exact day Derby Day is.

Legitimate Rape?

What I carried with me for the past two weeks, was this. The gang rape in India, of this innocent woman. It is so sad , but what's really sad is that, it isn't unusual. This is personal for me. I have someone in my family who was gang raped, but she survived. I held her hand in the emergency room after it happened. I don't get real personal here in this blog, but this is real. For any of us who have daughters, sisters, mothers, even grandmothers. Read the rape statistics
I can't imagine, what is going on in Syria or worldwide. It is everywhere.
In our own country. Rape  is legitimate. Rick Santorum. "make the best out of a bad situation"
Todd Aiken legitimate rape.
Thank God for Tori Amos

When, will this ever stop? I only know that when I was in the emergency room, with  my cousin, this is what I sang to her.

It still breaks my heart.

Merry Christmas! All Ye Faithful!

Merry Christmas!  To all  my readers from India to Russia, (Yes, I know you are lurking..) From France and Indonesia. Ukraine, China, Latvia and the UK, US and Germany. However you celebrate, whatever you celebrate, be merry and thank you for reading my blog.  Happy Christmas to all  in the blogger community, who have supported me. We celebrate tonight, but the struggle is far from over. Dasvidanya

You Get What You Pay For

I have been thinking a lot about the people of Newtown, how hard life is for them now. How the Holidays are probably like some kind of cruel joke to them. I can't imagine their suffering. Their world has been turned on it's head, everyday they live with an empty place where their child or their significant other used to be.
Then I start getting pissed.
Because we are used to tolerating a hell of a lot of crazy in our culture. The rest of the world sees it and thinks we are a nation of dumbasses but we continue to think we're exceptional for some reason. I have a few examples of this.
One is the NRA and Wayne LaPierre. His big idea? Armed security guards in schools
I read this yesterday. My first thought was maybe it was some kind of stimulus. A program for out of work people who are hired to be the "good guys with guns". A boon for gun manufacturers, to make even more guns, especially designed for school security forces, maybe a "Special Edition" deluxe model..My suspicion was that LaPierre and gun manufacturers were in cahoots, drooling over future state funding flowing into gun corporations coffers, feeding off of the fear of frightened parents. LaPierre's idea isn't new. There are police and private security forces in city schools. I also know in my community the local police have a presence in some of our schools here. My point is this, LaPierre's ideas are old and tired like him. But he gets paid a lot of money by gun manufacturer's to continue the status quo of death and violence. We get what we pay for. A gigantic lobby to pay for our representative to look the other way and do nothing. There's a lot of cash at stake here. There is only one representative I know about who spoke out about gun control. He is a conservative named Joe Manchin, from West Virginia. He's a "proud NRA member." I don't know what he's so proud of, other than the bribes he gets from the NRA for saying that. Does anyone else see this crazy going on?
Then there is the John Boehner epic fail this week with the whole manufactured fiscal cliff. Talk about insane. He was delusional enough to think he could get his Plan BS to pass the floor, but thank God it didn't have enough votes. I don't know if he was surprised or not. I read a great article in The Guardian about him and the poverty he was born into. He was one of 11 kids that grew up in a two bedroom house. That's right, 11 kids and two bedrooms, you do the math. I don't know a whole lot about his parents, but who the hell has 11 kids and not enough room for them to lay their heads down?. This reminds me of the whole baby boom generation who just had loads of kids on faith and not much brains. This was John Boehner's normal. It kind of looks crazy to me. I grew up in a family of 5 kids, 3 of us shared a bedroom at times and I know how crazy that was. But 11? Holy crap. No wonder Boehner's always crying. (maybe HE's mentally ill and has an irrational fear of being poor again) What a sad way to grow up. Now he's one of the most powerful men in DC. You would think, he would have some compassion for the middle class and the poor. Instead, I see that his "humble beginnings" have caused him to live a life on the take, from the NRA, Raytheon, myriad defense contractors and big pharma cashing in on lobbyists and millionaires.We get what we pay for. The price we pay is ineffective leadership and a whole load of Kleenex for Boehners crying ass. He's a laughing stock AND a millionaire.
Which brings me to the state of healthcare in this country and Adam Lanza, James Holmes, Ian Stawicki (the shooter in Portland), Thomas Lane, the list goes on and on go look at Think Progress  it's sickening.
You would think, that getting help for crazy people would be a national priority. But it's not. Here's an article in The Washington Post . It's about mother's who are caretakers of their mentally ill sons. Basically we know it is mostly young, white, mentally ill men who are mass murderers. In this article it details the journey of a mother and her mentally ill son and the fear and violence she took on. I am well aware that I have a feminist take on things, but why isn't there an article about father's and their mentally ill sons? Women are traditionally the unpaid labor engine in this country and once again, you get what you pay for, and women pay a high  price, physically and mentally. I am guessing, like Adam Lanza's mother, a lot of these women are in denial about how bad their sons mental illness is. Then if they do have the guts to call a spade a spade and admit their son is mentally sick, negotiating with a broken healthcare system will drive you crazy. But we can't have a national healthcare system, including mental healthcare, because America is broke or Americans just don't care.
To the rest of the world we look like a bunch of backwards idiots, who are unwilling to step up and deal with things or even God forbid, raise some taxes on the wealthy to take care of both of these crises'. I think it's called a poverty of the mind, we are too lazy and dumb to change.
 So, it's "Bah Humbug" because Scrooge is alive and well in America and we will continue to pay, one way or another.

Demand A Plan To End Gun Violence

A group of artists decided to make a video to end gun violence. They're right, it's enough. Sign the petition. Things can change, be the change you want to see.
                                                         Demand a Plan - Home
                                                  Maybe it's only a petition, but it's a start.

Plan B.S.

It should be painfully obvious by now that the Fright Wing can't get their sh*t together. In another moron move by clown car driver Boehner, he introduced "Plan B". I like how Republicans can have a "Plan B" but women who need emergency birth control to avoid an unwanted pregnancy, can't have a "Plan B" as an option. So, in order to try to avoid an unwanted fiscal cliff, Boehner and Cantor assured everyone they had enough votes for their "Plan B" which did not have enough spending cuts for Paul Ryan, since Boehner is desperately trying to save all of those government defense contracts for all the lobbies paying him, they were not a part of the plan.
Now all we have to do is wait for the fiscal cliff to go into effect on Jan.1st, then the middle class tax cut bill will be introduced and the Rethugs will have to vote for that since that's the only thing they will vote for. (usually for the top 2%).
According to what I read in the Guardian, Boehner was "publicly humiliated" by his own party. He is living in some delusional world, where he can just throw down and everyone in his fractured fairy tale just goes along with it. I seriously don't know what he hoped to accomplish with this latest stunt, other that to make himself a laughing stock. He's been one for a long time, but now it's just getting worse.
This bill, according to what I read was a way for Republicans to cover their asses so when the Bush tax cuts expire, they could say they tried, but uh, well, they didn't. This reminds me of the old Churchill quote about "Americans will do the right thing, when they have exhausted all other measures" Only Republicans don't care about doing the right thing. They just do their thing, then they'll throw the middle class, the poor, seniors, the sick, veterans, you name it, under the clown bus they drive.

Deja Vu, "Lockdown" Is The New Reality

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There is a sadness and grief, that is prevalent now, after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. It is deep and profound. Everyone feels it, no matter how far you are from Connecticut, it is palpable. We all feel so helpless. We all know, this can happen anywhere, at anytime.
 I want to share some insight from my years as as long term substitute teacher for almost a decade.
First, is whats's called "lockdown". This is when there's a drill at school, almost like a fire drill, where teachers according to protocol, turn out the lights in the classroom, lock the classroom door, our children are instructed to get under their desks. The children are to be silent, motionless. We then wait for the principal or vice principal to give us an announcement after they check the classrooms and hallways to see that everyone had followed this protocol. I don't know if some of you reading this remember, the 50's and 60's with students hiding under desks in case the "enemy" had launched an atomic bomb in our direction. So now it is an enemy within.
Now, that's even more dangerous than whatever "yellowcake" Iran is cooking up in the Middle East.
My question in this scenario is, what does this do to a child's psyche? That they have to hide, for what reason? Why? This is acceptable now and it is wrong. Why is it okay to tell preschoolers, kindergartners, first graders, tenth graders, that we lock our classrooms and we have to "play possum"  just in case, someone with a gun or assault weapons, comes into the school, like it's the Ok Corral and shoots up the place?
I think it comes down to the question of violence in our culture. Violence is the means to an end, guns go hand in hand with violence in our culture. Since the strong survive, if they have guns, so be it.
There is no damn reason our kids in 2012, should be hiding under desks and having to go through "lockdown" because there is  no sane gun control or real help for the mentally ill.
The thing that breaks my heart is that I know, how we all try to prepare for the worst.
 Does "lockdown"" save us from that?
As teachers, we try to create a safe place for all of our students. Why are our kids still hiding under desks, like it's the 1950's. What does that do to them? Besides making it seem "normal" that we have to lock our doors and hide because some madman is on the loose with not just one gun, but many guns.
Have we evolved at all?
What exactly are we teaching our kids? Oh, I know, lets teach them to lock the classrooms and hide, because we can't figure out how to make our culture a safer place. This is how they grow up, EXPECTING violence to happen at any moment. Because "lockdown" is the new normal.

American Psycho

Let me guess, he was  a loner, never said much.
 How many more times?
When are we going to get real about mental illness?  From what I have read, his mother wasn't real sane either. "Guns were her hobby." She wouldn't let anyone into her house, but was totally willing to bring her guns outside to show off. This is how she raised her son. Like most mothers, she took her mentally disturbed kid to a shooting range.
This woman wanted to be "prepared for the worst." Well the worst happened. But I don't think she was real prepared for it. Kind of ironic, don'tcha think?
Just to get a picture of what was going on in Adam Lanza's life, plenty of people knew he was "obviously not well" . When his parents divorced in 2008, they were ordered to "participate in a parenting education program". Guess that didn't work out so well.
How many of us have encountered a person who we KNOW is mentally ill? How many of them get any kind of help?
I was a substitute teacher for almost ten years. I did what is called "combat duty" I taught some of the most disturbed and violent students in my county. I have seen MANY kids like Adam. The only help they got was a school psychologist. They are not licensed psychiatrists. They can mitigate some issues, mostly neglect and a bad case of lice. However, they are not prepared for something on the level of Adam.
When the Aurora, Colorado shooting happened, there were people who didn't want to name James Holmes, because they didn't want him getting any more publicity for his evil deed, this issue is coming up with Adam Lanza too, but we need to name names, we need to own up to the fact that these people are mentally ill and we are not addressing this issue at our own peril.
 Before Holmes went on his rampage, he sent his psychiatrist burned money, I guess to pay his bill. That would look like a red flag to me, but even his parents couldn't or wouldn't figure out what to do with their brilliant loner son, neither could his psychiatrist. Holmes decided to take his outrage on innocent victims in a movie theater. Far more mass shootings occur at schools. Why is that? The rumor is that Adam Lanza's mother was a teacher, however she did NOT teach at Sandy Hook. She was not a teacher. Why did her son, Adam and others like him, target schools to wreak havoc? Maybe the answer is because they want to kill the most innocent in our society. I don't know why they do that, other than what is it about their own innocence that was cut off or killed?
Why aren't the mentally ill getting help? Untreated mental illness is a huge problem in our culture. Why is that? With all the Prozac being prescribed, why are there more shootings and more violence? Americans spent $16 billion on anti psychotics, $11 billion on antidepressants. I am hoping that is keeping mass murder statistics down. Why is there such a dramatic increase in these shootings? There have been 62 mass shootings in the U.S. in the last 30 years. Gun control is a big issue, but guns are never going away. Not if the NRA has anything to do with it. The mentally ill have no voice, no lobby, other than big pharma. Just try getting counseling or mental help and deal with your insurance company. If you don't have money, good luck, just take the Prozac. Or you can wait weeks for an appointment at a public healthcare facility.
Face it, we just don't care about mental illness. Like the village idiot in days gone by, we'd put some food out for him and leave him to go on his way. But now, the village idiot has not one gun, but many more. Mental illness is the reason these mass shootings are happening. Since we live in a culture where the rugged individual can just strike out on their own and pull themselves up by their bootstraps, that is what the mentally ill are left to do. There are going to be more and more mass shootings to add to the list of 62. Nothings going to change. That is the real tragedy of what happened in Connecticut, and Virginia Tech, and Columbine, the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin, the Amish at Nickel Mines Schoolhouse, the 1991 shooting at Luby's Cafeteria in Texas, the shooting at Iowa University Nov. 1991, the shooting in San Francisco killing 8 in 1993, the Long Island Rail shooting, also, 1993, Jonesboro Arkansas, 1998, Atlanta shooting by a day trader 1999, killing 9 people, Fort Worth, Wedgewood Church, 7 killed, Wakefield Mass. 2006, he killed 7 too, Santana High School shooting, 2001, Lockheed Aeronautics shooting, 2003, Red Lake High School shooting 2005, 9 dead, Salt Lake City Mall 2007, 5 killed, Omaha shopping mall 2007, 8 killed, Illinois University, Valentines  Day 2008, 5 killed, Binghamton N.Y. 2009, immigration services bldg., 13 killed, Fort Hood shooting 2009,  also, 13 killed, Manchester, Connecticut, 2010, 8 killed, Tuscon Arizona, 2011, Gabrielle Giffords shooting, 6 dead, Seal Beach Salon killing, 2011, 8 killed, Oikos University, Oakland, 2012, 7 killed, and the list will continue to grow. R.I.P.

Shout out to Jill over at Brilliant at Breakfast: Where no one cashes in on unpaid writers. She featured my blog, along with nine others, all with different points of view about the causes and conflicts of this terrible tragedy. Thanks Jill, I just wish I wasn't writing about something like this.

All We Need Is Love

The holidays are hard for so many people. But especially for the LGBT community. With all the judgement they have to  endure. Don't know if you have heard this from Macklemore. It is righteous. Who knew a rapper could bring that on.

I think we all need love now. Macklemore brought it on. I'll post tomorrow with my usual rant.
 I am praying for the people in Connecticut.
God Bless Us Everyone. All we need is love.

What do you think?

Shoot The Messenger

The Bradley Manning pre-trial hearings have been pretty eye opening. There's been some controversy about whether or not there's been enough coverage or interest in this hearing. Mainly, The New York Times has been accused of ignoring this case.
Whats's more important? Bradley Manning's hearing about the document dump to WikiLeaks, making him a traitor to the United States government, or the fact that one of the most important news sources in this country seems to be ignoring it? Did they also ignore WikiLeaks when it published the State Department cables in 2010?  No, they didn't. 
From what I have been reading, Manning's defense  lawyer has been doing an excellent job of making the jailers at Quantico look like The Dukes Of Hazard are in charge of the brig  Their behavior seems ignorant and brutal..
Manning had been placed on suicide watch, he was stripped of his clothing, made to wear a "suicide smock", kept in solitary confinement in a 8x6 ft cell for 23 hours and 40 minutes a day. Bradley Manning's defense lawyer David Coons asserts that "All logic by anyone who could affect change for Pfc Manning was checked at the door."  Here's another quote from the Officer in charge at Quantico, about a birthday package sent to Private Manning, “The package is being rejected and returned to sender due to the manner in which it was received and also because there was no prior request or knowledge of the package . . . and because we felt like being” obnoxious." It makes you wonder if they could be that controlling and childish, about a birthday package sent to Manning, what the hell else are they capable of? Private Manning was held in solitary confinement from July 2010 to April 2011. The only reason he was transferred to Levenworth was because of an international public outcry and the accusation of torture by the U.N.

Manning has been charged with aiding the enemy. Meaning Al-Quaida., by releasing hundreds of thousands of emails, the content of which were quite embarrassing to the U.S.. These documents showed the U.S. State Department intelligence and workings, regarding Arab governments, setting in motion the "Arab Spring" revolutions, starting with Tunisia, millions of Tunisians read the leaks validating what they knew about the greed and corruption of their leader, president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, and his family. The citizens of Tunisia  utilized Facebook to inform others of the luxury and palatial lifestyle of their leaders

It is really important to see the bigger picture in terms of what happened as a result of Bradley Manning's actions. There is a shift in global power, not in the U.S.'s favor. 
Also, information included in the leaks included  the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Creating even more controversy, revealing evidence of torture and detailing the deaths of Iraqi     
citizens. Meaning that the U.S. military is guilty of war crimes by violating the Geneva Convention of 1864. Article 12 of the Geneva Convention of 1864 states that: 
"...Members of the armed forces and other persons (...) who are wounded or sick, shall be respected and protected in all circumstances. They shall be treated humanely and cared for by the Party to the conflict...Any attempts upon their lives, or violence to their persons, shall be strictly prohibited; in particular, they shall not be murdered or exterminated...". 
To kill a person who is already wounded, and to kill a person who is attempting to provide medical aid and assistance, are, according to the Geneva Convention, war crimes.

When I read this I want to know why Dick Cheney, George Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, among others are not in jail with Manning for war crimes? I guess no one has an answer for that.

There has been some comparison of Of Daniel Ellsberg's Pentagon Papers and the lies he exposed from the LBJ administration onward relating to the Vietnam War. I think the fallout from Manning's leaks is much bigger, and will continue to be, from the revolutions in the Middle East, to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and now the revelations of Manning's treatment, revealing abuse of power and corruption world wide. I say he has suffered enough and commute his sentence to time already served. What do you think?

Republican Bi-polar Bonfire

Seriously, I can't believe anyone can be a Republican. 
Chris Christie, this week asked President Obama for 100% funding from FEMA to offset the cost from Hurricane Sandy. Also, in the same week he vetoed state legislation to create a health insurance exchange because he wasn't sure how much it would cost, throwing it back to the federal government, I am guessing he wants the federal government to pay for that too.
I thought "big government" was a big problem for Republicans.
Meanwhile, former Republican Charlie Christ, decided to become a Democrat because he is fed up with the Republican Party. Shades of Arlen Specter. Am I really supposed to believe this guy wants to be a Democrat? Or is he out of money and needs a job as a politician so he'll flip flop and say whatever he has to, in order to run for the Senate or Congress, or whatever office he can, so he can get a big government salary and government benefits like healthcare.
What is it with shady behavior and Republicans?
In another bi-polar move, Mitch McConnell filibustered his own bill.  McConnell went to Harry Reid and asked for a  vote to raise the debt ceiling,  when Reid got a caucus together to support the bill, it went to the floor for a vote. Then McConnell refused to vote, objecting to his own bill. Dick Durbin ( D-Ill.) said it might be the only time in Senate history someone filibustered his own bill. I really think this guy needs supervision from a psychiatrist and chemical management. 
Like any dysfunctional relationship it is exhausting trying to make sense and find meaning when words do not fit actions. It seems like Republicans have no boundaries. The only thing you are guaranteed from them is to outlaw abortion and birth control. Oh yeah and human rights. In another astounding turn of events, Republicans voted against  a U.N. Treaty extending the Americans with Disabilities Act worldwide. (Legislation that Bush signed)  Republican Senator Bob Dole asked them for support of this 
So basically nothing will get done in Congress or the Senate. Republicans won't vote for anything. Period. Like a tantrum throwing 2 year old, they are gonna lay down and cry until they get their way, except no one knows what that is.
A headline in the Daily Telegraph, "The Senate vote on the UN Disability Treaty shows the pitiful state of U.S. politics." Proving that we are a laughing stock to the rest of the world. The UN bill has been ratified by 126 other countries.  I can only imagine what the"fiscal cliff" negotiations are looking like with these gasbags. I wonder if Chris Christie will get the FEMA money he's asking for if Republicans have to actually vote for it?
 When will this jackassery end?

Rich People Problems

In the land of the rich, where Republicans live, they are busy trying to reinvent themselves as the compassionate party. Here is a quote about Paul Ryan at the Jack Kemp leadership award event the other night, "Ryan made clear that he would be making poverty in America a central part of his political message as he weighs a presidential campaign of his own."
How is he going to do that? With welfare reform of course! Can't these politicians come up with anything new? Of course, the American people are supposed to swallow more lies..check this one out:
“We have a compassionate vision based on ideas that work – but sometimes we don’t do a good job of laying out that vision. We need to do better,” Ryan said. Hey, wait a minute, that is new. I didn't notice Ryan or Romney being very compassionate when it comes to the 47% and by the way, your "vision" sucks you can't take garbage and lay it out better until it suddenly smells like perfume.
Rubio was at the same event, sharing his two cents worth, ‘‘Not so long ago, even if you didn’t graduate from high school, if you were willing to work, you could find a job that paid enough for you to buy a home, start a family and eventually send your kids to college and a better life,’’ Rubio said. ‘‘Those days are long gone, and they are probably not coming back.’’ Well he's right there, only he forgot to add that even if you graduated from high school or college, there are not enough jobs. I wonder where they went? Since those jobs are "not coming back" that means they went somewhere. 
Ryan is now concerned with poverty. Rubio  says in days of yore, you could get a job without a high school diploma. I wonder if they see any connection? Because unemployment leads to poverty, actually it's the fast track to poverty.  Rich people outsourced jobs and money with their corporations and tax breaks. 
Meanwhile, in D.C., the fiscal cliff just won't go away. The Republicans got busy and wrote a letter
Well, it looks like John Boehner's secretary wrote it, but whatever, I still am having trouble figuring out what the Grumpy Old Party is proposing. So far it looks like this.
$900 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid
$200  billion in cuts to Social Security
$300 billion in cuts to discretionary spending
$800 billion in new revenue.
What? "new revenue?" Yes, "through pro growth tax reform, closing loopholes and deductions while lowering rates" How the hell can they lower rates any more?  I am so sure the lobbyists are just going to disappear while congress closes loopholes and deductions. What kind of crack is Boehner on anyway? He wants to cut billions from social programs and lower rates.  The letter states that "they are ready and eager to begin discussions on how to structure these reforms" I'll just bet they are. I don't think any one else is as eager as they are though. I don't know how long Boehner's been in that tanning booth, I think his brain might be fried. He called President Obama's plan a "La la land offer" weird, since that seems to be where he lives.
The reality is that people don't want social programs messed with. So far, what I can see is that Ryan and the rest of the Repubbies agenda is ripping apart whatever is left of the social safety net. Then privatize them for their rich donors. However that is not what the American people voted for, despite the fact that wealthy Americans tried to buy the election, they lost. However, they still think they can ram their agenda, down the 99%'s throats.

Jaws Of Hurricane Sandy

I haven't posted any pics of the devastation here, where I dwell. That is purposeful, the last thing people who have lost everything need, is people taking pictures of their tragedy. My dad sent me these pics of sharks roaming in the streets of the Jersey shore, during the hurricane. 

Governor Chis Christie has asked for 100% help from FEMA. For debris removal, among other things. 

Who knew ? 

"Big Government" is usually the enemy, for Republicans, but Christie is right, Government is here for a reason. The cost of removing debris is going into the millions, if not billions. There are at least 22,000 homes that are uninhabitable, and people refuse to leave, some have no where else to go. I think this will bring up the issue of affordable housing, especially here in New Jersey, it is almost non-existent. People who have condemned homes are living with dangerous mold, but they will not leave their homes, and Christie does not want to use Eminent Domain to force people out. This tragedy has affected so many people, who will become homeless, if they have to leave their condemned homes.

There are so many people who have been displaced, and are living in hotels. FEMA is there for them to move on to "recovery" that is FEMA's goal.. But what if you have nowhere to go? Into The Jaws of Death,? I guess Tennyson is too dramatic.. They have survived so much. I hope FEMA and Christie will help these people.
Because the Shark insurance companies are abdicating any responsibility, here in Jersey. That is why Christie needs so much help. When the storm was downgraded into a "superstorm" not a hurricane, the insurance companies don't have to pay..

Screwged

With the holidays approaching you would think Republicans would be in a more festive mood. After all they have had Christmas for over ten years. 
Instead they are going to try and screwge us, Dickens style, with their  Victorian economics, like the ghost of Christmas past, when there was no such thing as climate change, abortion wasn't legal, healthcare basically didn't exist along with antibiotics. You know what else didn't exist back then? Pensions, like the ones the Republican's get when they leave office. When was the last time you heard of someone getting hired somewhere and getting a pension?
 Boehner and McConnell act like the election never happened. In Victorian times, a black man couldn't  become president. Meanness and being tightfisted ruled the day, Republicans are like characters in a Christmas Carol, or any of Dickens books. They are the Tories of yesteryear.
30 years of tax cuts. How has that helped the economy? 
Thankfully, today, unlike Victorian times we have phones. How about we call McConnell and tell him what we think of him?  502-582-6304 in D.C. 202-224-2521 or how about Boehner?  937-334-1524 IN D.C. 202-225-6205. The only problem I have calling them up, is trying not to cuss at them. Email Boehner @ www.speaker.gov  McConnell @ mconnell.senate.gov . Let 'em know how we feel, share the hate.
If sequestration goes into effect we stand to gain over $700 billion in revenue and defense cuts. I think Boehner will cry when that happens, the defense cuts will hit the money making machines of both parties.
It's time for the U.S. to stop living in an Upstairs, Downstairs world.